London: Former ICC Anti Corruption chief Lord Condon has advocated bans on cricket boards, who fail to stop their players from involvement in corruption.
Condon`s comments came in the wake of jail terms handed out to three Pakistan players-- Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammad Amir-- after being found guilty of spot-fixing in a match against England last year.
"The ICC has to give out the harshest sentences it can. The nuclear option is banning boards from international cricket," Condon, the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said.
Condon was the first head of the ICC`s anti-corruption and security unit when it was set up in 2000 following the match-fixing scandal surrounding the then South Africa captain Hansie Cronje.
Condon said ICC has no option not to take tough decision if corruption is to be rooted out of sport.
"The ICC must get tougher. This is a big wake-up call. Cricket is at a credibility crossroads. The ICC and national boards have to be tough and, if they are not, they have to face the consequences," he told BBC.
Condon also batted for life bans on corrupt cricketers.
"I am like a lot of people [in that] the lifetime ban is something I would like to see. You want to see the ICC being pro-active but, unless there is really strong evidence there was something involving the whole team, it would be really difficult to do (ban the country)," he said.
PTI
